Disgraced US politician Anthony Weiner has resigned from his post after admitting to a series of inappropriate online relationships with women. The embattled congressman from New York stood before the world and once again apologised for his “personal mistakes” and the “embarrassment I have caused” before saying he had no choice but to stand down.”I’d hoped to be able to continue the work that the citizens of my district elected me to do – to fight for the middle class and those struggling to make it,” he said.”But unfortunately the distraction that I have created has made that impossible.“So today I am announcing my resignation from Congress so that my colleagues can get back to work, my neighbours can choose a new representative and most importantly, that my wife and I can continue to heal from the damage I have caused.”Mr Weiner apologised and thanked his constituents and his family, particularly his wife Huma Abedin, who is a top aide to secretary of state Hillary Clinton and is pregnant with the couple’s first child.
“I am here today to again apologise for the personal mistakes I have made and the embarrassment I have caused,” he added.He is the third member of the US Congress this year to step down because of a sex scandal.The move comes after a news conference on Wednesday by former porn star Ginger Lee, who told reporters she had exchanged around 100 emails and Twitter messages with the under-fire politician.According to Ms Lee, Mr Weiner asked her to lie about their contact, eventually phoning her to ask her to keep quiet and avoid the press in the hope that the story would die down.She said: “I think that Anthony Weiner should resign because he lied. He lied to the public and the press for more than a week.
“If he lied about this, I can’t have much faith in him about anything else.”Previously the congressman admitted to a series of inappropriate online relationships with as many of six women over three years.He had initially lied about the scandal when a lewd photograph appeared on his Twitter page, claiming he had been hacked.The White House had called him a “distraction” and President Obama said earlier this week: “If that were me, I would resign.”The 46-year-old politician had been at an undisclosed treatment facility after taking a two-week leave of absence from Congress to seek help for his behaviour.
Senior Democrats had been due to hold a meeting on Thursday to discuss the situation – and rumours had been circulating that they were ready to force him out if he did not resign.Simultaneously the House Ethics Committee had formally opened an inquiry into Mr Weiner’s conduct, which included exchanging private messages with a teenage girl from Delaware.While there was talk about expelling Mr Weiner, his choice to resign should terminate the investigation, as the committee only has jurisdiction only over the actions of members of Congress. – Skynews
